Mushroomfolk.
Elvien’s understanding of these intelligent puji still stayed at the one Fifteen had once brought ho—the noisy little creature who shouted every day about fighting side by side to slay enemies, yet fainted at the sight of blood.
After eting puji #9, he had guessed that the special puji Inanna obtained in the dungeon back then was probably also one of the mushroomfolk.
These strange beings addressed each other by number. He wondered which number that one had been?
Such puji were mysteries worth investigating, but no one had the ti under those circumstances.
Yet fate was mocking him—never had he imagined that after death, he would beco one of them himself.
Could the earlier puji also have been transford from soone who died?
But on second thought—no.
From his brief exchange with puji #9, he could tell that the creature truly took pride in being a puji. That kind of pure ntality absolutely couldn’t appear in soone who had been reborn.
His own case seed… a bit different.
“You all… what did you call ?” Elvien tried using thought-voice. It worked instantly, as if it were innate.
puji #1 and puji #2 blinked. “Fourteen. Didn’t you get your number?”
When they were newly born, the great mycelial lord had personally bestowed their numbers.
Even now they could still recall that sacred, glorious mont.
“Ah… you’ll be… one-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine-ten-eleven-twelve-thirteen.”
Fourteen…
Elvien felt this was retribution.
Back when he adopted those orphans, because he was terrible at giving nas and didn’t think nas mattered, the children without nas were simply numbered. When they grew up, they complained about it endlessly.
He even rembered the child nad Fourteen—who later beca a blacksmith.
He never imagined he would one day beco a puji with a number himself.
So then, who nad the puji?
“Why, the mycelial lord of course!” the puji answered imdiately when he asked, then looked confused. “Did you not hear him give you your na?”
Realizing he might have said sothing wrong, Elvien hurried to cover it up.
“I just woke up. I might’ve missed it.”
He very much wanted to ask what the “mycelial lord” was, but given the unclear situation, it was safer to blend in for now.
Imdiately afterward he sensed waves of sympathy coming from the puji around him.
Lin Jun had already told them this was Fourteen, so they did not doubt it.
Fourteen hadn’t heard the mycelial lord bestow his number—that clearly ant he had just been born, consciousness still blurry, and missed the mont.
The most important mont of a puji’s life, lost just like that—how pitiful.
puji #1 and puji #2 beca even more enthusiastic toward this unfortunate new mber.
“This is the Mushroom Garden—our mushroomfolk headquarters!” They pulled Elvien through a forest of mushroom houses, then pointed at a tailless lizardman passing by. “Those are mushroom-servants. They serve the mycelial lord.”
A demon!
Elvien instinctively tried to curl a tentacle toward his waist—but found nothing.
Only then did he rember he had beco a puji.
And his two favored weapons had been destroyed in the battle with the Blood Emperor.
So that ant… all his skills…
Elvien looked at his round tentacles, curled one around a stone shard on the ground, and gave it a test swing.
Before the other puji could react, a mushroom house beside him suddenly tilted, then slowly snapped in half.
The tailless lizardman, who hadn’t gone far, glanced back at his collapsing house, turned expressionlessly away, and continued walking—he was used to it. He’d just stay at Qiong’s place tonight.
The surrounding numbered puji beca excited.
“Ohhhh! Amazing! Such a clean cut—just with a stone shard?!”
“No wonder the mycelial lord said Fourteen was strong!”
“Fourteen, Fourteen! What skill is that? I want one too!”
For a mont Elvien felt like he had returned to his early adventurer days, when teammates first marveled at the brilliance of his swordsmanship.
“Fourteen… maybe it’s possible.” puji #5, who had been quietly following at the back, spoke timidly, its cap drooping as if unused to being noticed.
All the puji fell silent at once.
Was it… really possible?
“Possible to do what?” Elvien asked.
puji #1 placed its tentacle on Elvien’s cap and vividly recounted the mushroomfolk’s longstanding grudge against a certain black demon.
It tried to make the tale sound tragic, but to Elvien it was nothing more than a story of a wolf chasing a rabbit.
Though he did find it odd that the way puji #1 described being eaten felt… as though it had actually been eaten.
And…
“Didn’t you say the Mushroom Garden is the mushroomfolk headquarters?” Elvien cut in. “Then why does your biggest enemy live inside your headquarters?”
puji #1 turned its cap aside, tentacles twisting awkwardly. It clearly didn’t know how to answer.
Elvien wasn’t about to blindly attack so unknown creature. He needed to understand his situation first.
He was just about to refuse when puji #5 suddenly shouted:
“She’s coming!”
The puji, who just monts ago boasted as if they owned the place, instantly scattered while squealing “puji puji,” their short legs leaving frantic prints in the soft earth.
Amid the chaos, puji #13 tried to shove Elvien forward but he blocked it with a tentacle.
Then Elvien saw her—the Gray-scaled creature following the sll, drooling nonstop.
A dragonkin?!
Everything about this place felt wrong. Demons, puji, and dragonkin all living together?
Elvien had no intention of provoking trouble, but the dragonkin clearly saw him as food.
And he was Elvien the Sword Saint—not a puji.
He struck out instantly with the stone shard.
He knew ordinary stone could never pierce dragon scales, so he angled the shard to slide beneath a lifted scale at a joint.
Crack—
The stone shattered.
He blinked. Even the skin was that tough?
In that case, the only weak point was the eye.
Gray lunged forward like always, arms spread to hug.
Elvien waited calmly for the exact mont before the dragon claws touched him—
Treading the Moon.
Thud—
Instead of the expected leap, the puji body face-planted into the dirt.
Gray cheerfully scooped him up and imdiately began nibbling on his cap.
The scent coming from this puji was far too tempting. She had literally woken up craving it.
Feeling his body being eaten inch by inch, Elvien felt no fear—only confusion and absurdity.
Why did Treading the Moon fail? And why, after reincarnation, was he eting his end in such a ridiculous way?
The baby dragonkin chewed rhythmically, occasionally licking with satisfaction.
It seed he truly was delicious—that was Elvien’s final thought before consciousness sank again.
…
【Na: Elvien Slein】
【Race: Mushroom – puji】
【Skills: The Pinnacle of the Sword, Deliciousness LV10, Fragrant Temptation LV8, Cold Resistance LV10】
【Permanent State: Swordheart (counteracts spiritual-type damage)】
【Titles:
Sword Saint (blade damage 100%)
Slayer of Demons (damage to demons 10%)
Dragonslayer (immune to dragon fear)
Master Teacher (increases chance of insight when guiding others)】
Attributes: 10 / 10 / 10.
…
When Elvien broke out of the mycelial cocoon again, he could no longer suppress his shock.
Dream? Hallucination?
No. With swordheart clarity, he knew everything had been real.
Another rebirth?
What in the world—
“How’s that new mushroom body treating you, Sword Saint~?”
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